ban

Blocking a person or entity from access to an electronic service for a period of time, often indefinitely. When dealing with minor server rule infractions, users are usually simply muted for a bit or kicked (forcibly disconnected) by the administrators of a service, but are given another chance and allowed to reconnect, whereas a ban is much harsher and will deny and/or block any attempts connect with or view the page or service. Administrators (aka Admins) of networks, websites, servers, channels, and forums can usually ban people or entities from connecting to a server, either by their account information, their IP address, or other filters. People are usually banned for violating the Terms of Service, hidden legalese nobody bothers to read, rules, or going against the spirit/ideals/culture of the website, server, network, channel, or forum. Bans can range anywhere from a few minutes in length to an indefinite amount of time.